State your stance on PAS-BN cooperation in Negeri Sembilan polls, Loke tells MCA, MIC

 The DAP secretary-general says while cooperation is their right, they have to clarify themselves to the public.

Negeri Sembilan DAP chief Loke Siew Fook said the party will have a tough time facing the opposition’s racial narratives in campaigning for the state election.

PETALING JAYA:

DAP secretary-general Loke Siew Fook has called on MCA and MIC to state their stance on PAS’s proposed cooperation with Barisan Nasional in the coming Negeri Sembilan state election.

Loke said while cooperating with PAS was their right, they had to clarify their position to the public.

“I want to know the stance of BN’s component parties, especially MCA and MIC. Don’t hide your stance. Give the public a clear picture,” Sinar Harian reported him as saying today.

Loke, who is also the Negeri Sembilan DAP chief, said his party would face a tough campaign against the opposition’s racial narratives ahead of the state election.

He said PAS would rather lose than see DAP win.

“They will say everything is DAP’s fault, and DAP must be rejected. We can see that Perikatan Nasional, especially PAS, has already begun such attacks,” he said.

Earlier today, PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang said his party was negotiating seat allocations with BN ahead of the Negeri Sembilan state election.

He said PAS had agreed in principle to allow BN to defend the 14 seats it previously held, while PAS would contest the three seats it previously won. The remaining 17 seats would be decided through negotiations between the two parties.

However, BN chairman Ahmad Zahid Hamidi later said there was no seat-sharing arrangement with PAS, and any discussions between the two parties amounted to no more than an “understanding”, and not a final agreement.

The Negeri Sembilan legislative assembly has 36 seats. In the last state election, Pakatan Harapan won 17 seats, with DAP taking 11, PKR five, and Amanah one. BN won 14 seats, while PN won five, including two by Bersatu.

The Negeri Sembilan election has been set for Aug 1, with nomination on July 18 and early voting on July 28. - FMT